Quid Pro Quo
by Winkaku
Summary: Lazy high school drop outs apparently come in all colors I guess. I suppose when it comes down to it I should just be really happy that they were all bored enough to let me ruin the rat-race... and pray I never run into doorway guy number two ever again.


Title: Question and Answer, quid pro quo

Summary: It all begins with a question and ends with an answer; however getting that answer is a whole other issue all-together.

A/N: I first saw the predator movies when I was around ten or eight years old and they fascinated me; a unique alien creation, what was its culture; it's technology, who made it where did it come from? Now at the age of twenty-one and cooped up in Alaska with nothing but a select few DVDs, one of which being AVP, I reflected on the cultural impact predator had and just how cool it was that you can bring two worlds together. It rekindled my love of the series, both alien and predator, as well as reminding me how shockingly little I knew about them.

I've always gotten a kick out of human predator interactions and have been thusly inspired to write.

Now to the point of this long winded authors note: I know very little of this world, this story is nothing but a dip and a fun excursion so there will be many inaccuracies and contradictions even. The Internet is down up here and I won't be able to publish this until I get back home. I have always found that the best information on theses subjects comes from its loyal fan-base anyway, so once this gets out feel free to write back and tell me everything; I want to know how it works, its biology its social network anything and everything!

As for what I do know; I salute you wikipedia and all your glory.

This story is also a wave to many of my favorite films games and shows of the sci-fi genre.

And so it begins…

I knew it was young by several points; firstly because it seemed very… unskilled and secondly but most prominently because I had somehow managed to one-up the son of a bitch.

My name is Maraschino, don't ask, my parents regret it as much as I do, something to do with my "partying personality" and how my parents met. I have short brown hair and a flat chest coupled with a tall and lanky body that makes me indistinguishable from the opposite gender. I live in a small semi-condemned and until recently abandoned town house building. The water works still, probably because no one in this part of the city knows what they're doing out here but the electricity is all but gone save for one circuit or line or whatever so I could charge my phone. I work as an EMS provider; a paramedic and I spent most of my time and money with schooling and living expenses which basically means I've the bare minimum for a license and no "real" home. It was either this place or the barracks at the station and I'd choose this place any day of the week… except maybe Saturdays. I love those twits, they taught me everything I never learned in med school…good and bad… but a woman needs to have her independence and that's where I put my foot down and found this place; it'll do until I get rich and famous… hehehehe.

Who'dve known that living in this place for so long would invite situations like this! Sure you've got your hobo's and ill will dealings but they never came to my door let alone my window and they at least knew to steer clear of the one "tenant" with a police issue shotgun!

Which brings us to our current situation… I must've surprised him I know that much for sure, cuz I saw him coming through the darkness at the window and I rounded on him with both barrels. Just as I shot at him he must've jumped back… right into the main support beam headfirst…yow; I could still hear the ringing from the impact and the column was still vibrating…yeesh. It had come through my window, the time being somewhere around midnight; I always had been an insomniac. The air from the open window was cold and dirty and I was sorely tempted to close it.

So there I was, staring at the weirdest looking thing I'd ever seen, watching it bleed out neon green and shrapnel. Apparently I'd managed to hit it on the left side but the wound looked superficial or something, just messy… my aim always did suck, I prefer good old-fashioned CQC!

This situation left me with a set of choices; I could finish it off, a shame considering the subject in question. I could run off and let it possibly bleed to death on my floor… and have my bedroom turned into area 51… no thanks… or I could do the crazy thing…which is what I usually do… eh… fuck it.

I stood up and walked shakily over to the closet, rifling through a few suitcases and down passed the hangers with my spare uniforms, spare boxes of ammunition a few knives, textbooks…and there it was in all it's cheap plastic glory; a first aid kit, one that I had personally stocked with anything and everything I could possibly "borrow" from the hospitals or that the station let me keep, god bless those fools. I yanked it out and kicked it over beside my new friend, walked over to stoop down next to him and just stare at him. It wore a pristine metal mask sort of thing, a dented breastplate and a few other miscellaneous garbs; gauntlets, boots… fishnet of some sort… must be a cultural thing… it looked like a dervish straight out of old African lore save for the fact that it's armor looked like it hadn't seen a single fight before. Speculation aside my curiosity got the better of me and I did my best to peel off it's mask; I might have broken something in it but holy hell!

"You are one…UGLY son of a bitch…"

Whatever it was it had a big head, thick wiry hair and four big teeth and as much as the biologist in me wanted to dissect him, the survivalist in me wanted to get done and get out. I opened the kit and reached for a bottle of ether, wetting a strip of gauze I placed it on his face and prayed it would work.

"There… now stay unconscious you freak."

Over the next ten or fifteen minutes I set about removing as much frag as I could and stitches failing I taped him shut with steri-strips and medical tape. I applied a compress to stop the bleeding and bandaged him up with liberal amounts of tightly wrapped six-inch cling wrap and even more tape. I sat back to survey my work with a bit of pride, my once sterile gloves were covered in what I could only describe as a sulfuric green; I lent forward to remove the ether dabbed gauze and replace its mask rather precariously onto his face and noting what I could only assume was an angry exhale. Rocking back on my heels I debated what to do next, was it really still alive? I thought about placing him into the left lateral recumbent position but immediately dismissed the idea, it only took one clawed hand twitching and cutting up my floor for me to grab my boots and book it.

I feel real sorry for whatever idiot decides to investigate that midnight shot.

I had always been named the unlucky one; a young dagger barely out of teaching and still learning. I was the one who accidentally broke silence before the prey, I was the one who fell into others traps and I was the one could only dodge… passably.

As I lie here I can't help but remember an old name or two; "knife in the wall" for a knife in the wall is a knife that missed or "dagger shadow" because a dagger with a shadow was an unlucky one… unlucky was a very good way to describe it…

My side ached but mostly it was my head that complained, I raised a gauntleted hand to it as my helm wavered insecurely in its place. I was also known as "new steel" because I hadn't seen my first real hunt yet… I was only here on stealth training; hide amongst the herd sort of thing…well done that was…my mask was offset!

With an irritated few clicks I could only assume that whatever human had managed to take advantage of my extraordinary ineptitude had also removed my mask…how insulting. A stubborn and bitter feeling roiled inside of me as I re-secured my facemask, clamping a few errant wires back into their place and sitting up to survey the damage. I felt a strange tugging on my left side and halted to examine what looked like bandaging; my equipment was working fine as I scanned it thoroughly, little shrapnel remained and the wound had been closed, albeit poorly. This discovery raised an odd air; it seemed as if the human had not only decided not finished me but it had seen fit to repair the damage it had caused. I scanned my surroundings through a number of settings, even by flight of fancy the scanner mod used mainly to detect xenomorphs…nothing but foot prints and old heat signatures… interesting…

Seeing as my bedroom was currently occupied by ET's angry cousin, I had decided to move back out for a while and rough it similarly to how I had after first leaving my college dorm: ye olde park-bench and newspaper style…

Blowing an errant section of "The New York Times" out of my face I stretched out a bit and sat up into the warm early morning sun. Perhaps it had all been a huge freakish dream or perhaps I should call the cops… I sighed and heaved up to stand, watching as Ted, one of our many local schitzo-manic-narco-homeless hobos walked his friend down the street; scruff was one of the cute pups.

I leaned over to unchain my bike from a nearby lamppost and, huddling up in my sweater, I kicked off toward the station and toward some breakfast as per my daily two-hour commute.

"Hi Ted, Bye Ted, Later killer."

I smiled as the fetid air blew by and pedestrians jumped back to avoid me; for some reason it seemed as if the events of last night hadn't yet set themselves properly into my brain…oh well, give it a week or so and the nervous breakdown was sure to catch up with me. I rode across the street earning some angry cussing and honking, choking on fumes as I pulled up along one of the few remaining respectable food service joints left in this section of town: Café Broadway.

"Heya Perry whatchya got?"

Perry was an immigrant from god knows where and I couldn't pronounce his name so from the day I met him his name was Perry and old Perry didn't speak a lick of English. So far I could tell he knew at least a few words though; "pay up", "shut up", "I'll have the special" and a whole set of death threats. You never knew what you would get here, mostly because the staff didn't know either, so I'd toss him money and he'd toss me whatever fit it.

I sat on one of their fancy wiry café seats eating a bagel with whatever and a cup of could-be-coffee; I could hear sirens in the distance and sighed as my phone rang, I forced down the remains of my meal and walked over to the side of the road. "Watch my bike got it Perry?" True to form Perry answered with a wave as ambulance 36 and its crew slowed to let me hop on the back, kicking up speed again to push through traffic; I yanked open the back door and hopped in just in time for the vehicle to buck like an angry bull and throw me face first into some steel drawers.

"What the fuck Ed!"

He looked back to me and shrugged. "I dunno girl, anyone else hitching a ride today or are you just putting on weight heh he!"

"Shut up, both of you, I'm in the zone here!"

Only my partner would do crosswords in the cabby mid run to a scene.

"What we got?" I yelled over the sirens as Alex leaned across the front seat for a better vantage point against the bumpy roads and traffic. " Possible gunshot wound to the abdomen; domestic, gonna be one of those mornings." I was inclined to agree with her as we sped off, especially with Ed at the wheel…

"Why ain't you dressed right girl?"

It was a tenuous start as I followed, any elder would not have been proud as I clung to the roof of the primitive vehicle; whoever was steering this thing was definitely not of the sane variety…small blessings that my cloaking unit still worked.

The day stretched on much the same as I followed the human and it's vehicle from one area to the next across the city and back. This human and it's pack were of a strange sort, one of which seemed infatuated with the abhorrent vehicle it undoubtedly piloted and the other was most definitely the leader; a loud sort of creature, it reminded him of the stories and information he'd observed concerning the human military commanders. My quarry, though skilled, seemed willing to take orders given from the other female; she was smart, she knew her skill set and her place but that seemed to be the reigning mentality in their little pack; it was outside of their pack that they developed issues. I laughed, a small quiet clicking chuckle that would have earned me a punch in the face by any of my own kind for breaking silence. Their work was most definitely scientific, medical; they ran back and forth between a large medical facility, a paltry base of operations and wherever it was that they would be sent off to next, each mission heralded by a loud bell and claxon call.

It was quite amusing to observe these three humans interacting with others and most of all it stirred my blood to watch my quarry spar with the other humans as they waited for another signal to move. They operated out of a relatively small central complex with a mess hall a few darkened dens and some showers, they would spar in the main vehicle bay while others where out and there was enough room for work.

Time and again I observed as that one human female felled others almost twice her size and strength! They would trip as she nary broke stride; if I listened I could almost hear her heartbeat in my ears. It was quite puzzling actually, human females where notoriously weaker in strength and build than the male of the species; I was hard pressed to remain in my hiding spot. The female fought with a strange method and style I had not seen before; never meeting blow for blow but misdirecting each with nimble hands and an agile quick body, slowly tiring her opponents until they either pled defeat or pinned her; it was…odd, ill effective at offense as it seemed.

The humans were a small segmented hive of activity, I'd never really just stopped to observe and appreciate them before but then again I'd never met a pack of creatures so odd before…"wandering knife" others had named me…indeed.

When not fighting or cleaning or eating, on the few moments of lax air without being called out on missions or bothered the human only seemed happy when lazing in the sunbeam. The bronzed rays of dusk ran across the floor through a modest window at the front by a large set of steel doors and traveled to a stop along her belly. That was something I could also appreciate, it made me long to do so as well. Her form was long and smooth with black inked tattoos peeking out from its uniform on occasion as it stretched out like a lynx, content as a queen in a blanket of her children. I soon found my own eyes falling shut at the sight of such a blatant comfort. She was almost the complete antithesis of the typical yautja female, it almost made me laugh at just how puny the human was, no muscle at all but she had spunk like a weasel amid serpents.

At the end her record was of three losses by pinning and four wins by exhaust.

Alex had been right; it was one of those days after all and no matter where I went I couldn't help feel I was being watched. Our first call of the day had indeed been a gunshot victim; shot in the foot by an angry housewife and dodging glassware by the windows, thankfully her aim was as bad as mine. We had just been on our way back when we'd been called out on a medical to a behavioral emergency/diabetic incident.

Then a few stabbings, then off to a new onset seizure patient and a shut-in obese man with a suspected MI and off to several heat-stroke victims. We barely had any time to ourselves but I managed in a quick shower and raided the fridge for a few sandwiches courtesy of Ed. The firemen and their engine company at the station were having a uniquely slow day though, the district seemed depressingly void of car wrecks and arson today, eh, count your blessings while you can. We passed our down time sleeping eating, cleaning and sparing; I always love schooling the new boys but my fighting style consisted mainly of dodging and tripping them up; I had only ever grasped the defensive aspects of Hopkido after all. As an EMT, I know where to hit people so that they don't get up again…something I've no intention of doing anytime soon; besides, I was better with knives.

Thank you dad, you and your paranoia…

I sat down by the main fire engine call exit gates as Alex came up from behind me with her usual superiority saunter; how she had ever made it through basic with that attitude was beyond me, I guess they just recognized her talent…or were that desperate to get rid of her.

"Coffee?"

She leaned smugly against the side of a support strut as I watched the traffic wiz by and the sun set through the skyscrapers.

"Na, I'm good."

"Good cuz we're out." She smirked at me and swung her hips as I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Would you-" I started but cut myself off with an irritated twitch, she should be used to that by now but it was awkward nonetheless; how exactly do you tell someone you're afraid to go home. The station was full and I wasn't about to weed my way through their supplies, we were low as it was and… dammit, it may be an abandoned pile of slag but it was my place and it's a real pain in the ass to find an empty spot with working water and a functional electrical socket, plus, all my stuff was there! Alex raised her eyebrows and I quickly shrugged her off as I stood up and made to leave.

"You know you can always stay at my place." She offered non-chalauntly.

"No thanks." I cringed inwardly; damn my pride, we both knew it was useless.

I rounded the curb toward the café as I walked some of the distance home, most people here knew me and avoided mugging me; whether it was my hopkido, that I was an EMT or that rumor about me and a sawed off shotgun that Ed had started up but I was pretty safe so long as I had my bike. Anyone who offed me would have an angry police station and about a dozen pissed off hobo's after them with an ugly ambulance… and Ed and Alex at the wheel. I laughed at the idea as I waved to Perry and went to pick up my bike from wherever the man had chained it.

"AWWWWW! Perry what the hell?"

I groaned as Perry looked at me funnily and shrugged from behind his counter; the chain had been cut right through and needless to say my bike was gonzo. I kicked the side of the building and huffed; it was getting dark and that was not a good time to be out so I needed to hurry home…yeah…home, maybe Frankenstein's monster had gone home too, god I hope so.

I still couldn't help but feel I was being tailed as I ambled home, through some old ally, passed Ted and Killer, around the park and across the streets; so far so good. For some reason though it still felt like I was being followed and it only got worse the closer to home I got. I ran a little faster and pushed it out of my mind as I came to my door; maybe that panic attack was catching up with me sooner than I had thought it would. Key in hand, the entrance to my squat little building had never looked so intimidating before and well… I hesitated and instantly regretted it.

"Now what would a fine chick like you be doing out here hmmm?"

Shit.

"Well sweety? Got business here?"

He was an ugly bastard with a pierced nose grimy blackish hair and built like a linebacker complete with two skinny guys licking his boots behind him. He looked unarmed, no knife, just big and ugly; I could deck him and run off if I was quick about it.

"C'mon babe, whatchya gonna do for pay? There's a fee ya know? Papers please."

He leaned into my face, his breath smelled like alcohol as his two buddies tweedle dee and tweedle dumbass chuckled back and forth; then he stuck one of his grungy gloved hands right down my sweater. I balked for a second and shot my hand out, palm flat, straight into his big nose and ugly face; the angle wasn't steep enough to have shoved his nasal cartilage into his brain so he'd live to talk but I'll bet I at least broke something. He recoiled as I kicked him into his cronies and spun off breaking out into a mad dash so as to put as much distance between us as possible.

That's' when I heard it and in the next second I was on the concrete gasping. That fucker shot me! Clean into my left shoulder, not a good place to get hit; I couldn't breath and each sputter was choked in blood as I rolled onto my side clutching at my chest. The greasy bastard screamed at me through a broken nose as I curled in on myself, feeling the cold seep in and shock taking root, this wasn't good.

I knew this would happen…I never listen.

I had followed the human as it traveled toward its final destination for the day, presumably back home. I wondered what it would make of it's situation, from the looks of it my presence had left quite an impression on her as she stood in front of her den staring at the door.

My HUD blipped at me, indicating the presence of other humans still out on the streets. I turned to watch from my vantage point atop the roof of another building as they crept out of an ally way; they where a pathetic looking bunch, clicking to myself I debated the consequences of their presence. It didn't take long for them to corner the subject of my attention as I scanned the three repeatedly, testing out my HUD and stretching my senses. I was amid my second scan when the human male attempted a rather crude advance on the female. I cringed, thinking of the females of my own species and just why few males would be so bold; I rubbed at my thigh, remembering quite clearly such an incident.

The female hit him square in the center of the face; this one had a knack for locating biological weak points. She pushed him back into the other two and onto the ground as I performed another weapons scan and as the male's thermal outline shifted I cold see it at his side. This dishonorable wretch had not only outnumbered her but was fighting an unarmed opponent with projectile weaponry! Angry clicks turned into a puzzled growl as the human did the exact same thing that had sparked my odd interest in her in the first place. Rather than finish off the scum that had accosted her she turned to run away! That sealed it in my mind; this was an odd human and an all-around odd creature. That's when the human collected itself and stood up to shoot her, my blood roiled at such dishonorable combat and cowardly tact.

Observe and stay hidden, that was my purpose, to obtain a better grasp on camouflage, but I had already broken that rule during the nights cycle and before I knew it I was on the ground and stalking forward to break it again.

As I had originally presumed, the three were indeed a pathetic bunch, it didn't take long to pick them apart one by one. A successful stealth hunt indeed, I clicked a disdainful chuckle at the idea, how pathetic.

The blades at my gauntlets meeting the abdomen of the last human male, I stepped forward to examine the female. Her body was definitely in shock, I scanned her, noting several cracked ribs a punctured lung and torn muscle along the jagged path of a bullet still lodged somewhere in the scapula. I was impressed that she was still alive but she wouldn't be so for long.

Human medicine could do nothing for this.

Which left me at a dusky crossroads; either leave her to die or… do something I would undoubtedly regret. Tapping open the console on my right gauntlet I heaved a sigh and sent out my evac message, trilling nervously, my mind wandering to the rights and wrongs of my culture; I suppose I owed this creature at least a few bandages. It stared up at me, wide eyed and clutching at the wound in her chest as she struggled to breath and she was forced into death-sleep by blood-loss.

I was fucked, no, I was beyond fucked; I was uber fucked and shit was just getting weirder by the blink every time I managed to open my eyes. There was some muffled screaming and I think I got blood on my face and the next thing I knew there was tall dark and butt-ugly staring me right in the eyes. I freaked, I wanted to freak, I wanted to scream too but my throat was stuck up with blood and I just couldn't breath!

Shortly after that, I couldn't help but feel as if I was moving; had old 36 picked me up? Alex would be pissed at me. I could see a few blurry outlines as I tried to sit up; I instantly recoiled as pain exploded in my shoulder and drew a sweaty hand up to my chest only to have it swatted away. I must have passed out or something and it didn't take long for me to do it again.

There are three specific evacuation codes; the first and foremost common being "mission success", the second and less common being that of failure. The third code, not having been used in countless stellar cycles, was that of "unusual circumstances". This code was rare and could cause quite a stir among shipmates but leave it to J'Naul to actually need to make use of it.

D'jan chuffed out an irritated breath as activity on their vessel climbed, curiosity piqued by "unusual circumstances". The last time the third code of evacuation had been used a hunting party had come across an unknown species of alien life that had attempted to follow them everywhere; strange small hairy creatures with an endless apatite and extraordinary multiplicative properties limited only by their rate of consumption. Odd as they where, the constant purring trill they emitted was said to be maddening and if files were right, and they usually were, I almost shudder to think what would have happened had one of them made it through security and gotten on board into the food storage facilities.

This was odd even by odd standards; a human female had been brought on board; said female was now in my care. Apparently J'Naul's poor performance had put him into this humans debt; blood owed to a human, ironic but strangely enough not wholly unprecedented.

She was a lithe creature with short auburn hair and seemed quite resilient for it's species in consideration, it had awakened mid evacuation… charming. The female was long legged and had strange markings running along the right side of its chest and abdomen dipping in and out of the remnants of its clothing like black vines. The design seemed to hold no meaning and the concept was completely esoteric, superfluous and stupid; it was not earned that was for certain. The markings our kind wears are symbolic, there was no way such a small and supple creature could earn a mark so large! Besides, yautja hide is too strong for mere inks.

Given time and work the bullet was removed without incident and the abused tissue repaired; this human was a lucky one, the projectile had only just nicked the heart muscle. Lucky indeed but not so much could be said for that dagger shadow of a pup J'Naul.

Speaking of the daggers shadow, the pup had taken to standing outside the medi-bay watching the end of the surgery, unmoving and with an avid interest uncommon to such a wandering knife. My brows twitched in thought as the surgery concluded and the human was bandaged appropriately, she would be on an IV drip of synth-blood and stabilizers for some time but I had no doubt that she would recover under such advanced care. I finished with the bandaging and moved to cleanse my hands of the humans watery red blood, looking out to see the pup still standing there, waiting his turn to be seen by a medic.

Across the observation windows, I ushered J'Naul into the medical ward and through the horizontal red beams of sterilizing high frequency light; a marvel they were.

"Sit"

He followed the order without complaint but frustration was evident enough in his eyes and stiff posture. Wordlessly I unwrapped the primitive dressings along his side, scanning with specialized equipment revealed little shrapnel that was of no consequence. Having reached the wound I almost chuckled at the sight, all tape, burns and pockmarks left by primitive firearms technology and a physician with only improvised medical knowledge of how to deal with the wounds and underdeveloped technology to do so.

The pup didn't have the audacity to complain as I explored the wound, pulling out metal bits and grafting burns. I closed the wound with staples and some more acceptable dressings, sitting back on my stool to examine him. Footage from his helm was still being reviewed but it would undoubtedly prove to be very interesting.

He gave a half-hearted shake to his shoulders as he stood and lifted a hand to scrutinize my work; that pups mind was always sectors away from where it should be. I swatted his hand away as he leveled to my implacable gaze with a huff and turned to take the walk of shame out of the medi-bay. I chuffed a short laugh out after him; I almost wanted to pity the young one but that was just insulting.

"Well, it definitely has been one of those days."

I turned to stare at the speaker and instantly found myself agreeing with her.

The room was a sterile white with darkness eating at the corners, my guest sitting on a kitchen counter as I sat leaning against it.

"Can't get much weirder than this can it?"

I laughed as she sipped her coffee, I could really go for a hot cup of coffee right about now…

"What happened?"

"You tell me; last thing I remember was greasy popping a cap in my ass!"

I stared at her, the story seemed familiar and the ache in my shoulder agreed with her. I nodded and fingered the bullet hole in my chest; single GSW to the chest, I hated calls like that…

"Am I dead?

"No I don't think so, cuz then I'd be dead and I certainly don't feel all that dead."

I agreed; if this was death then life had a whole lot to answer for.

I shrugged, leaning forward to stare my mystery guest eye to eye; the artificial light of the room was sharp but unwilling to cooperate, it seemed almost belligerent.

"Soooo…?"

"Don't look at me, this is your head." She laughed and there was no echo as she set down her mug on the tile counter with a clink. "If you keep talking to yourself like this, people are gonna think your nuts." I turned and stared as the lights failed; I knew she was familiar, I'll never forget that bitch…

I woke up slowly, the world a fuzzy haze and my last memory being that of a would-be greaser and Bigfoot's big daddy staring at me like something he'd found stuck between his toes and couldn't identify and by fancy had decided to pick at. I sat up and my vision swung, I couldn't think straight, lifting my hands to my chest to feel at the strange bandages that were currently keeping me in one piece. There was a long deep forest green strip of something covering the site and an equally green plat of something equally unidentifiable with bandaging over top; they didn't have this stuff at the hospital…

Standing up as I looked around me several things came to my attention, firstly that this was definitely not the hospital and that whatever was connected into me was a dull purple-green and it was not familiar. I tore the loose mask off my face, hacking a storm with a weak moan as I observed with more than a bit of horror that not only was I being pumped full of whatsit but I'd been operated on by Bigfoot's big ugly friend standing in the corner watching me freak out half naked and hacking! The thing came towards me and as per freak out I did the first thing I could think to do and socked him one in the face. I hurriedly pulled off the wires and tubes while the guy got his shit together and ran for the door, post haste, a green light and claxon blaring at my heels and wearing nothing but my jeans.

The place was huge! All wide corridors and blue-black metal whatever as I caught myself against it, running out the corridor only to see that Bigfoot had big friends and lots of em! They turned to me with an alien huff that sounded a little too much like Jurassic park for my comfort as I hopped back with an indignant crackling scream.

"WOAH!"

I shrieked and turned on my heels as it lunged for me, a big honking mean looking spear in its huge hand. It twirled and it almost caught me but with the Hopkido in me, I managed to push its arms away, altering its path mid flight with slight of hand; dad would have been proud. At least my agility seemed to have surprised it a bit and on that lead I managed to swing around my legs, trip it, and disarm it as it passed me. The look of surprise written across the things metallic mask was priceless as it did a complete face-plant and I must've been high on something by that point cuz I was grinning like a madman and twirling that spear like a baton in a marching band as I backed down the hall. It was back on its feet pretty quick and my little moment of pride deflated like a burst bubble, my heart was pounding and his buddy looked about ready to shoot me or something, I needed an escape and quick. I flashed quick looks everywhere, up down and around and bless my soul there was what I could only describe as a ventilation shaft over my head and I'd bet my biscuits I was a perfect fit for it. So, plan in mind I took a low haphazard stance and predictably the thing followed suit; using a universal come-and-get-it sign I learned via Bruce Lee's "Enter The Dragon" I had that mother charging like a bull. With a quick leap I was bounding off the back of it's head and ramming the spear straight into the metal grating as the thing made true to it's new nickname; face-plant. Short-lived victory in hand I was up and crawling into the nice little access way to god knows where.

I was beginning to see just why J'Naul had been so curious of our new guest. I am not of the warrior cast, I do not even have a helm designed for combat, and to say that I was unprepared would be an infuriating understatement. I had turned back from my work only to see the human tearing off my equipment and I ended up startling it into a fight-or-flight response. Apparently, judging by my throbbing lower right mandible and by just how fast it's adrenalin fueled panic had it running; it had chosen to take both options. Angrily I keyed into my wrist computer and sent out notice with a no-kill order and the security systems sounded off the situation. I gathered my wits and walked out passed the entrance corridor to the medi-bay and into one of the larger more mainstream hallways of the ship. My eyebrows climbed to new heights as I stopped beside two guards that had undoubtedly made acquaintances with the human.

"It's a quick one." Jreal lowered an unhappy glower to me, his partner hissing obvious displeasure.

"Indeed." I agreed whole-heartedly and so did my cut lip.

"Where is your weapon Jreal?" My inquiry was met with an angry murmuring as I followed his gaze upward toward the battered entrance of a ventilation and maintenance shaft… this was going to be interesting, especially with a no-kill order, I smirked as he and his partner glared at me; clearly not as amused as I was.

"Can we locate it?"

"The human is either knowledgeable in our ways or incredibly…lucky. This is the main shaft-way." I turned to follow his pointing fingers as he outlined the shafts. Yes, knowledgeable or lucky indeed; whether we managed to follow or not, it would be difficult to ascertain her form against the latent heat and energy signatures that ran rampant in those shafts.

"Scanning is underway as we speak."

Sweet Jesus it was HOT in this thing, I almost couldn't breath. It must've been at least 92 degrees in here, why was this ship so hot anyway? It felt like I had been crawling through the darkness forever, like being stuck in a sauna with a fat man on your face, no light, just feeling my way along; if I didn't get out soon I would probably bake.

Thoroughly against that idea, I decided to make a break for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel that I had spotted along the metal box horizon not too far ahead. I was nervous, scared to hell, where was I? How was any of this real?

I choked back some errant hacking and crawled a little bit forward to stare through a slat of grating, into the light of what I could only think of as a computer room of sorts. I rolled onto my back, longing for a crowbar, contemplating my situation as I sucked at the blood congealed on the back of my throat. From the looks of it I was screwed, screwed beyond all the screwy kingdoms. With a quick coughing sigh I ran a sweaty hand through my short hair and mulled over my choices. My first choice was to stay up here and either fry or get caught, not a favorable option. The second choice; tear shit up and bring as many down with me as possible and with as much mayhem as I could. I rolled back over onto my belly and cradling my stolen spear close I studied the room below and pawed nervously at my shoulder wondering just what the hell they'd done to me. Dozens of old sci-fi flicks ran through my mind, each scenario worse than the last. These were obviously some form of large, freakishly strong and technologically advanced alien things and I was not gonna play the cooperative biological specimen.

Whatever fellow was below my shaft must've been the same kind as the one I woke up to. It wore a mask that was more like a low collar guard sort of thing just like the one the other had worn. It seemed oblivious to me, completely focused on the consol at its clawed fingertips as it clicked away. Well, it was now or never and I wasn't gonna just roll over and die without at least a few concussions so I positioned myself carefully and prepared for launch.

"BANZAI!"

I Screamed as I kicked through the grate and pushed off with everything I had, feet first onto the back of computer guys head. With all 145 pounds of me I managed to slam his ugly mug into the consol and leave a nice ugly dent but if experience meant anything it wouldn't keep him down for long. I made a grab for whatever I could and relieved him of a rather pretty dagger looking thing, holding it between my teeth for storage as I turned my attention to the room. It was large, almost domed with a clear view of the stars and lots more computers and a few different levels to stand on with a big metal door behind me.

"Shit."

There must've been at least a dozen of em! All staring at me like I was the weird one; strangely enough they didn't seem too inclined to make a big deal of me as they moved from their posts to encircle me. Computer guy looked like he was getting ready to get up so I did the first thing I could think of and slammed down on as many of the weird keys on the console as I could. This seemed to get their attention as I switched gears and ran like the devil to get the hell out. I braced myself to ram the big door open just to have it slide open on me at the last second and send me tumbling into the hall, the dagger still in my mouth. I landed on my side with a pained yelp only to come sliding to a stop in front of at least three more of them. One of them shifted in its stance as it watched me, a grudging intrigue etched across its steel masked face as it tilted its head and huffed at me. It reminded me a little too much of the raptors from the old dinosaur movies; all near silent plotting and head turns.

I reached for my pilfered spear and the lead thing made a move to lunge at me but with a roll I managed to avoid a most likely fatal bear hug. I pulled at the spear and I almost thought I'd broken it as it split into two ends but then I saw the connecting wire at the center and smirked, as one big spear became two small ones. I got to my feet and jumped back a bit as the lead hallway alien lurched toward me and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Spinning the spear blades in one hand and a manic "I'm taking ya'll with me" grin I puffed out my minuscule chest and launched my dagger at the crowd, there was no way I could miss in this mob! There was a thunk and some cussing as it buried itself harmlessly into the metal wall, the bastards hadn't even needed to dodge, when was I gonna learn that I couldn't aim for shit?

I wanted to lie down, I wanted to throw up but most of all I wanted to do damage. More filled into the hall and I knew I wouldn't make it passed them so I decided to make a hasty retreat back the way I came only to come face to face with the others. Hallway guy made a move for me and with another of my patented mid-flight pushes I had him careening into doorway guy as I relieved him of his nice dagger mid shove. I bit down on that one too as I twirled the two spears on their chain and I at least got the others taking a quizzical back-step away. It was a chorus of clicks and huffs as I rounded on doorway guy number two and took a high stance. Just as the first one had he too parroted my stance and without further notice I ran straight for him. Apparently my suicide tactic surprised him, big guys must not be used to people standing up to em.

I knew trying to rip a tendon or something along the lower legs and feet to immobilize him would be useless seeing as they all wore some pretty nice armor so I went for my usual next best thing tactic; leave an impression. At the last second I dropped to the slick metal ground and slid along the floor pointy ends up into a forest of legs that dispersed like angry birds. Frankly I didn't know anything about their biology so I just went on hunch and judging by the angry screech from doorway guy number two I'd been right; that'll teach him to wear tribal undies around a lady.

My victory was short lived as I skid to a stop back inside the room only to catch a quick kick in the abdomen that sent me flying into a wall courtesy of doorway guy number something-or-other. The force of the impact had me spitting out my last knife and clinging at my insides as I climbed up onto my legs; the things were coming into the room one after another and there went my barricade yourself in for a last stand idea. I spat blood and hacked as I watched them click back and forth to each other, I just couldn't seem to get a good breath of air in me. One stepped forward with what I could only describe as an ugly set of bolos; well, here goes centrifugal force theory. He spun them with a quick flick of his wrist and launched them non-chalauntly after me. Plan in motion I caught them with my lovely spear and spun them right back off the smooth edge of the bottom shaft and straight back where they came from. The sound of more clicks and trills met my ears as it was dodged easily and they continued to study me, angry shrieking from doorway guy number two beating my ears raw.

I knew when I was being toyed with and save for two or three of them I must've been entertainment tonight.

There was a stir in the hall as two new guys strode through the doorway, the others making room for them to walk through. I could hear their boots hitting the floor as the two closed in on me and I pretty much assumed I was as dead as I was spent. The shorter one stopped in front of me, I recognized the other with his cut lip and short-cropped faceguard as the one from when I had first come to. I twitched nervously as I examined the equipment in its clawed hand; some sort of breather mask, and the other took a short step up to me. I jumped a bit and he seemed to catch on to me as the others clicked away to themselves, he moved a hand toward his side and I followed it as I came to recognize the deep forest green covering it. I brought my hand to my shoulder and stared, pausing as he chuffed and the others began to back off a bit.

I would infinitely regret my lapse in attention as someone from the sideline had undoubtedly figured that enough was enough. There was a sharp ping of pressurized air and the next thing I knew I was pinned face first into the wall. The net was made of some kind of thick wiring that bit at me as I tried to pry myself loose. The bandaged one stooped down at my side and put a hand against my back to keep me from pushing against the net and I froze at the feel of it. His hand was cold rough and heavy, kinda like sharkskin on a sand bag and he seemed to be taking care not to sink his claws into me so that may have been a good sign. I shut my eyes against the clicking and almost caught myself trying to burrow into the wall as split lip; the one I'd seen first in this place, lowered to my level, tapping along on a strange box or something on its wrist. He brought it to my eye level, it was a small computer of sorts and the screen on it had some good old-fashioned English written across it in bright red, segmented letters.

Calm, this will help.

No sooner had I managed to read the message I had that strange mask of his thrust in my face. I instantly recoiled and split lip put his attention back onto the computer at his wrist, typing away on it. He shoved the mask back into my face and there wasn't much I could do but resign myself to my coughing and read whatever he wanted to say.

If you were to die you would be dead.

From the looks of it, I was forced to agree; I was quick but not that quick. I settled into the netting a bit as I tried not to think of just what they were going to do with me, focusing instead on a name for the bandaged fool that I had first met. Maybe bandages, or shotgun…or head trauma; whatever I came up with I could only hope that doorway guy number two had no say as to my survival. Hacking and sputtering I was peeled off the wall and slung over shotguns broad shoulders, still wrapped up nice and neat in my net. Trying to breath without the strange mask made me dizzy so I let split lip hold it to me as I was walked down the hall, a shivering hacking half-naked wreck, passed doorway guy number two and were I anywhere else the look he gave me would have made me cry.

Humans…always humans…

Throughout the limited contact that his kind had ever had with the strange species, surprises never seemed short in coming. The breed was known for having the occasional upstart but he had never had the chance to actually see one before.

Today was the day that Hlaruk would have that luxury.

Hlaruk wasn't exactly young by their standards; he had seen a few good hunts and sired a few sucklings of his own. He was somewhat middle-aged, wise but not the smartest or the best by far. He was one of the older warriors in charge of keeping the rookies in line and teaching them a thing or two as they grew.

He had been on post with the young ones in the maintenance bay, word of the human had spread quickly and soon enough the alarms were triggered and the lights went blaring accompanied by a no-kill order on transmission. The standing orders pertaining to its unharmed capture would prove interesting at the least though. This wouldn't prove difficult as far as he was concerned however, the human had probably escaped during a shift change or a lapse in supervision; it wouldn't take long before it was caught.

Infamous last words as the grating above one of the navigator's seats screeched open and the human in question came careening out one of the vents like an angry xenomorph, yowling in a language he didn't understand. There was a screech of metal and a crash as the machinist of the third console was kicked head first into his computer. Hlaruks eyebrows shot up as he and everyone of his fellows leveled on the human instinctively, red lights squared on it's back as it gathered its senses and shook off its sweat. It was a tall human female with short blackish hair and wild eyes, its body shook with coughing fits; ill suited to the atmosphere as it was. It smelled like sweat, blood and musk, it was probably in some kind of heat. The female trembled like a newborn but was quick on the take as it stole the downed fellows dagger and spun around to examine her surroundings. Hlaruk chattered to himself, a slight chuckle as the creature added insult to injury by taking the others ceremonial dagger. They collectively lowered their target reticules as they slowly moved to encircle their prey, contacting one another through their HUD system. The human seemed quite ill after it determined its surrounding, Hlaruk agreed that were he in the creatures unarmored boots, he too would feel overwhelmed.

They needed to end this carefully, the female was in a delicate state as it was; one wrong move might kill it.

Having discerned it's situation to be unfavorable the human spun on its heels to wreck havoc on the control panels in front, a tactic that got the hunter and his fellows moving with more urgency as it gave up and sped off with the operators ceremonial dagger still clamped firmly between its teeth and tumbling into the nearest corridor. Leaning against his consol the fellow got to his feet, fingering a chipped tusk and a small cut on his forehead with a hiss, florescent green dappling the tips of his claws; Hlaruk couldn't help it, he grinned behind his faceplate. There was the whistling sound of spinning blades as Hlaruk stepped into the doorway flanked by two others, every hunter wanting to pull his trigger but keeping itching fingers in check. He set foot through the door just in time to come face to face with the human. She was tall for her kind, almost tall enough to meet him at his shoulders. Hlaruk chortled to himself as the human panicked and one of his fellows attempted to get a hold on the female. It dodged with a lithe expertise that Hlaruk had never really seen before, a style unknown to him though reminiscent of the serpentine movements of a warrior drone xenomorph and the tail of a queen. He found himself almost surprised as he watched the human push the warrior mid strike, utilizing his own momentum weight and strength against him. With a twist of the females agile body it jammed its legs nimbly between the others and tripped the warrior up at the back of the knees, sending him straight into another. It tucked and rolled, roiling like a live wire as it twirled the ends of its separated stolen combo staff.

An interesting style for certain, though why it refused to trade blows with its stolen blades was definitely a mystery albeit a fortunate one should they want it unharmed. A budding respect was taking root as Hlaruk watched her bite down to carry her second stolen dagger; insult to injury indeed. Still more of the young warriors were gathering at the spectacle; the human female with a suicidal streak a dozen sectors long, bringing a static chorus of clicks and curiosity with them against the earlier boredom.

The Human took a few steps back as the warriors funneled her into the hall; there would be no escape from here. Just then, quick like a bird, the female took a high stance, challenging one of the many who stood beside Hlaruk at the door to step forward. One of the younger hunters, Tarnk, took the challenge head on and Hlaruk almost worried that the inexperienced fighter might not have the delicate touch necessary to capture the human without killing it. However, it didn't take long to realize the rookie hunter had fallen into some form of baited trap and Hlaruk was hard pressed not to wince at the effect as he and the others parted to let the sharp edges race by them and the young male was left to contemplate every possible meaning of the phrase "a moth to the flame".

With a light kick Hlaruk had the female soaring into the wall at the back of the maintenance control room, a twinge of apprehension as it hacked blood and shook but if the human had made it this far then it could probably take more. They closed in on her in a slow circle as by flight of fancy another saw fit to half-heartedly try pinning it with a set of bolos only to have them flung back in his face. Clicks and murmurs abound, this human had a knack for throwing your weapons back at you; if only she were yaujta, she might have made a good warrior. Hlaruk chuffed amusedly to himself as two others filled into the room, the rest of them parting to let them through. Finally a voice of reason he thought to himself as D'jan stepped forward with the young J'Naul in tow at his side. That boy was a handful and a slow learner, whatever they were going to do with him they'd best do it soon before J'Naul and his daggers shadow got good fighters killed.

Against the wall, the human stilled as it took a low stance and trembled, observing the two with wide eyes; frightened as they were, there was a manic high in them. D'jan signaled his charge to take responsibility and try to establish some sense of communication with the human that it might trust. J'Naul stepped forward and the human twitched; he stopped, trying to seem non-threatening was rather difficult to their kind but he managed it quite well often enough. He pointed to the bandaging and underlying wound at his side; Hlaruk almost snorted at that, J'Naul owed this human blood, he couldn't say he was all too surprised though but he was definitely intrigued. This was a story he might actually want to hear some day.

Watching as the two formed a method of communication, Hlaruk decided to make use of his clear shot and end this fiasco once and for all, pinning the human to the metal walls of the ship with a wire mesh net stuck in at all four corners and keying into his wrist computer to turn off the alarms. The human didn't so much as scream as it did yelp hoarsely and J'Naul turned to eye him displeased; too bad, this was his fault and he needed to own up to it. He turned back to the human as D'jan brought a breather down to the silly thing; good, any longer and the little human might just stroke out on the ships atmosphere. He keyed in a few things along his wrist computer and brought it to the females face and with the tact of any medic on this ship he shoved the breather on her. Predictably the human lurched back, D'jan was never known for his bedside manner, he keyed a few more words in for translation and leveled it back to her. The human seemed to take stock in his words as she remained still and allowed herself to be hoisted up by the four corners of the net pried free of the wall. J'Naul lifted her carefully and stalked off with the medic, back to the medi-bay, through a curtain of unregulated radio chatter.

Interesting…

The crowds dispersed with liberal application of Hlaruks swift disciplinary hand and the young ones went off to resume their boredom. He couldn't help an amused chortle as the abused operator and another rookie stepped forward to abashedly claim their stolen weaponry and several others helped with taking Tarnk to a separate ward so as to have his…lower extremities taken care of. Hlaruk was beginning to take a liking to the human.

Sputtering and hacking seemed to be the most that I could do as shotgun set me none to gently on the very same table from where this mess started. It was cold and hard but I didn't mind seeing as I wasn't dead or whatever else that could've happened. Split lip kept poking and prodding at me with little reserve, sticking his claws in places on my chest that I would have slapped anyone else for.

You're quite a handful.

I read across the screen at his wrist as he continued to manhandle me, scanning with some kind of wireless computer screen or something-hell I didn't know and I was in no position to complain either.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods eh?"

He didn't seem to understand the question as I leaned forward and pressed the breather back onto my face so I reiterated in more translatable terms. "Why you here?" He looked at me oddly, I suppose one could ask me the same question and he didn't seem too inclined to answer me. I looked over to shotgun and watched as he stood in his corner staring, occasionally clawing the bandages on his side. Shotgun took a step forward to talk to split lip, their chattering language of clicks and low frequency murmurs was completely foreign to me but they didn't sound too angry with me. Finally shotgun and the other seemed to reach a huffy accord as he turned to me with is own wrist mounted computer, typing away on it and bringing it to level with me.

What are you?

I would have laughed at that if I could have, it left me to wonder just who had the least amount of tact of those gathered in this room. I wanted to get angry at it; I should be asking him that question! I hacked a chuff of air in his face that had him taking a step back and staring at split lip, at least I seemed as odd to them as they did to me. He shook a few strands of his thick wiry hair out of the way of his faceplate and walked back over to my side, typing a bit more and turning it over to show me what he'd written.

You are odd.

If that didn't deserve a slap to the face, I didn't know what did, so I made to sock him one but he dodged the weak attempt easily much to my chagrin. Shotgun huffed at me again with that same low clicking sound and made to clarify what he'd said to me.

Why did you not kill me?

I mulled over what he'd just asked me, he must've been referring to back when he'd somehow managed to concuss himself after breaking into my semi-abandoned apartment. I shrugged, instantly regretting it as my shoulder complained and split lip made it clear just how much he didn't want me doing that again with a low hiss; hell, I wasn't about to argue.

"It's what I do."

Shotgun seemed dissatisfied with my answer but willing to leave it at that. I leaned back temporarily content to be prodded, tired out and riding the tail end of an adrenalin crash, still feeling like I was being watched and a quick look out the window by the doors was confirmation enough. You'd think they'd never seen a chick before… must've been a couple' a dozen of 'em, all lined up and staring at me with no expression whatsoever to be seen on their faceplates…it was creepy.

The sound of the humans hacking and coughing was painful at the very least but concerns aside, it would survive. Mission success on their part he supposed. He rolled his shoulders as he turned to leave, still taken aback by the brazen nature of the human. J'Naul just couldn't get a grasp on this human or it's way of thinking. He thought back to when he'd first woken up on the floor of that old building, of how he knew better than to have turned off his active camouflage and how odd it had felt when he'd first discovered the primitive bandages on his side. For a species that he had thought seemed to take death for granted it was odd for him to meet a creature that seemed so hell bent against it; it brought to light the intricacies of just what it was their kind had been doing, a sort of self realization if you would. That there were so many ways to fight was a new concept to J'Naul and it brought with it a new sense of sight and appreciation; perhaps this is what his teachers had been trying to get through to him. He chuckled near silently to himself, always learning, always watching; maybe he should start doing something too, by the looks of it there were many ways to do things.

…Nah.

Turning to the side as he made to exit the medi-bay he observed the others as they watched the human through the windows. He thought to himself that maybe they'd learned something from this too but in the end he doubted it; they were all so single-minded and straightforward…boring. He chuckled a little louder this time, noting as the others turned to give him a quick and incredulous stare; their little human female had made quite a little following on the ship, full of the extremely bored younger type as it was, many of which weren't even allowed to hold blades yet. With that he sauntered off into the halls back to the barracks again; he could feel a nap coming on.

Lazy and arrogant were two ways Hlaruk would have described J'Naul, it was nearly impossible to hold his attention, like a house cat. J'Naul was the one who lay down while others stood, the one who's mind wandered during any form of lesson and who never did anything when he didn't have to; ever.

He watched as the other walked off, undoubtedly headed back to the barracks for another nap. He snorted to himself in displeasure, turning back to watch the crowd of babes and rookies that apparently had nothing better to do than stare at the human female sequestered in the medical ward. He was almost tempted to give them all something to do.

The creature in question didn't seem to like being scrutinized so heavily and it turned to the window to make what Hlaruk could only think of as being an obscene gesture of some sort. He could only hope that D'jan had seen fit to put a sedative into that thing. Thinking back to J'Naul as he watched the rookies to make sure they stayed in line, Hlaruk couldn't help but think the daggers shadow had had some form of epiphany, it was in the way he carried himself, almost more so dignified than before. Whatever it was about that female it had captured the lazy fellows wandering attention in a way that all others had failed; perhaps learning from one who did so many things without having to would be good for a fellow who did nothing without having to.

This could only bring trouble.

With a sigh, Hlaruk sat down on his haunches and wondered just what he was going to see come out of this odd meeting of minds.

"Idiot."

A defensive style… in a yaujta? Tarnk was almost insulted as he watched the fool play with its little human pet in the docking bay. During the course of the creatures stay it had somehow managed to snake its way out of containment and passed all the guards, to cause one embarrassing incident after another, damage their ship throwing it off course by at least two sectors and completely maul the temperature control functions at this end of the ship. It must have been at most 50 degrees out by the barracks and the cold was never welcome around here. Cold wasn't fatal, they were resilient by all means but it dried out his skin and made him itch. Tarnk just couldn't understand as to why the human had been allowed to live despite all of its insults against them and now that fool D'jan had seen fit to give it free run of the place with that daggers shadow. It lay high atop its nest on several storage units, head and shoulders above everyone else as it shivered and burrowed into its blankets and breather with all of its mammalian "grace". Tarnk snorted, very much tempted to bring the creature down a few levels as he scratched the bandaging on his thighs. He wouldn't dare make a move though, not with old Hlaruk watching them…

J'Naul stood at the foot of the storage crates watching as the human shivered, it would be allowed out of the medical ward so long as he took full responsibility for the thing. It curled up with its breather as he looked up at it, unable to communicate outside of the written language but obviously wanting something from it.

"For the last time no. I'm tired."

J'Naul huffed, he didn't want many things in life outside of a warm place for a nap during lessons but this time he did and come hell or high water he'd get it. Unable to pronounce the creatures name any better than it could his, J'Naul had decided to name the female but couldn't decide on what just quite yet. To be honest, this little thing getting on board their ship had been the most fun he'd had in cycles, he wanted to draw out every bit of it if only to annoy the creature further. He continued staring at her, arms crossed and stance unmoving as it tried to ignore him. J'Naul had dealt with this tactic before, he had often been seen as something to ignore when placed in teams with others so he did what he always did in those cases; made it utterly impossible to ignore him. There was a low creaking noise accompanied by a shove and an indignant high-pitched scream as J'Naul tipped over the top storage container and sent the female toppling over.

"FINE."

The human scurried to its feet angrily as J'Naul laughed, watching the human take an angry stance and puff itself up, arms in the air like a startled beast.

"OK look!" It demanded his attention, waving its wiry arms and stomping dramatically against his growing laughter. It stilled, folding its arms to its chest and taking a deep breath as it sat down to draw its blanket closer and seemed to come up with an idea of sorts.

"I hid something around here a while back, if you can find it then I'll teach you whatever you want."

Hlaruk chuffed a quiet laugh as he observed them acting out from his vantage point behind Tarnk; if there was one yaujta that you couldn't trick with words it was J'Naul. Much to his surprise however, the young male walked off to begin a search of the docking bay. His brows lifted behind his mask as he watched the other begin a sector-by-sector scan and rummage around starting at the more suspect areas. It didn't take long for the human to crack, its uncaring guise moved by the sort-of trust the other had blindly put into it.

"Okay Okay! So there isn't anything."

It sighed as J'naul turned to look at her, one could all but imagine the cheeky grin behind his faceplate.

"…but you already knew that didn't you."

J'Naul rolled his shoulders with a chuff; yes, if there was one yaujta you couldn't trick with words it was him.

"Fine then, rule one to Hopkido is to be quick, divert your enemies movements and attacks with subtly and precision. Figure it out from there, that's what I did."

J'Naul took a high stance not unlike the human had before, tall and as slender as he could, a perfect mimicry given his size and body shape.

Hlaruk couldn't believe it, this human had not only managed to catch the boy's interest but she was actually managing to teach that thickheaded cretin! He huffed, no he actually laughed, watching the young pup attempt to copy the movements of the human, as ill suited as he was for it. They got into a rhythm as the pup mirrored her every move, eyes always on her and always curious. It was almost hard for him to believe that the belligerent youth could actually show interest in anything.

The steps were haphazard and slow, one drawn out stance leading into an easygoing fake motion of pushing and pulling. The female seemed somewhat content to be at the mercy of the others strength, pushed this way and that in a lazy trawl of what not to do and how it should be done. It didn't take long before J'Naul was constructing his own unique style of motion from that of the humans. Apparently Hlaruk had been going about teaching him all wrong, J'Naul had never been the truly aggressive type after all, as rare a find as that was in a young male. It seemed that laying in wait coupled with a calculating mind was his style and before now Hlaruk would have hesitated to call the pup calculating. He huffed to himself, arrogant and lazy but with an underlying streak of well-hidden brilliance; he was catching on unerringly quick.

The human was all laughs and coughs and playful yelps as J'Naul pushed her about like a small toy opponent and the false fight got faster and more precise. They traded one trip up for another, learning and moving and almost dancing about one another. The human yelped as J'Naul caught its quick blow and lifted her over his shoulders to set her down on the other side. The pup's ego was going to be insufferable for the next few days, especially if he could throw over his shoulder anyone that might object. Thinking about it, Hlaruk could see just how different the two styles were, one subtle and defensive with offensive potential and the other purely straightforward offense that was about as predictable as it was ordinary and…well, boring. Perhaps he should look into alternative techniques, things were getting a little stale.

The poor little creature looked about finished, tired out, Hlaruk had never seen such enthusiasm in the pup before, it was actually befitting of a young warrior. J'Naul stepped forward to crouch down onto his haunches where the human sat all sweat and coughs. He picked up the human with little protest and set it down on its blankets, taking a seat and staring it right in the eyes.

…

"Still want an answer do ya?"

He clicked an affirmative as he continued to observe her.

"Alright but its preachy."

She settled herself into the blankets, relishing every bit of her breather as he continued to click impatiently.

"Alright, alright fine."

J'Naul huffed angrily through his mask with a stare as deadpan as possible emanating from such a faceless visage.

"Everything everywhere is weird, different, nonsensical and that's life. You just keep going around in circles after a while…"

Hlaruk was shocked, beyond shocked, he was dumbfounded and staggered and astonished. This human, this minuscule creature had somehow managed to entrance J'Naul into actually wanting to hear a lecture! Hlaruks previous attempts at instilling any form of knowledge into the boy had only resulted in a strangely passive aggressive attack strategy entirely bent on driving Hlaruk crazy; from developing the ability to sleep standing up to having every word go in one ear and out the other, J'Naul was an expert at driving him mad.

"Ummm. Anyway. Living where I do… tends to be soul crushing." She nodded, rolling eyes wide with shadows as she agreed with herself. " To me, life is precious and I want you to know that and remember that, even when you're beating the hell outta someone." J'Naul chuffed as he listened to her and Hlaruk could all but see him drifting off; heh heh, lets see her fix this!

"OI! Nut up or shut up!"

The female smacked him upside the head with two fingers, the tips pinging off the metal brow.

"No one has the right to judge or to take life errantly, it's arrogant selfish and stupid, a complete mockery...but we all do a lot of things we don't have the right to do. When you forget it you loose it and it all goes down hill from there... especially when your entire mentality is comprised of super-ego high-horse bullshit."

Wisdom in the strangest places Hlaruk thought to himself, watching the human talk like a near elder.

"In the end it's all a matter of opinion. One action leads to many ramifications, each one unique to each individual their only consistency is, once again, inconsistency."

"After all, everything is defined by thought and action, perception is the key; a monster to a god is a god to a monster."

"A monster is simply the antithesis of a given set of ideas, therefore there is no universal monster because the definition and the basis for that definition vary infinitesimally from one consciousness to the next."

"To some a monster is simply a matter of appearance, to others it is a matter of actions and thought processes and to others still, it is a matter of choice; be those choices predetermined, a fluke or made with the ease of a wanting mind."

"Every ideal, opinion or mindset, whatever you wish to call it, is just that, a matter of a given perception at a given moment."

"To pass judgment on such things is a necessary blaspheme required to ensure an illusion of safety and preserve ones sense of normalcy."

She leaned forward to emphasize her point, holding not only J'Naul with her words but Hlaruk as well.

"To judge is to attempt to achieve an impossible balance between good and evil and right and wrong, etcetera and so on.

Judgment is a matter of perspectives, opinions and ideals, much like a monster is…and I am not a monster."

"I refuse to judge…it's a bit cowardly I know. You are not a monster and I refuse to be one…"

"There, happy? I've bared my soul to you, now for the love of god I'm tired."

J'Naul hopped up top one of the remaining upright storage crates to mull over what the female had said and the human nested further into its allowances, trying to get comfortable. Hlaruk could agree with her twisted logic on some sense as an older hunter; killing was easy, it was the dieing part that sucked.

Perhaps some of them, he eyed Tarnk as he paced the halls, could learn a thing or two from a sense of duality.

"What?"

Hlaruk turned his focus to see J'Naul had chosen to continue his scrutiny from a higher point seated on the munitions crates. His armored head rest on gauntleted hands as he continued to level his gaze upon her. He snorted and moved to point at the black markings on her side with one clawed digit. "Hmmmm?" She rolled over slightly, bringing the design to light as the moss green bandages wrapped around her chest shifted over them, her only modesty aside from loose jeans and black steel-toe boots. "This? Fell in some barbed wire a while back, ugly shit that, tattooed over it." J'Naul laughed to himself, he could tell from an entire sector away that D'jan had been taken aback by such large markings, and on a human no less, to think them earned in even the slightest would give the old stiff fits.

"You drive me to drink."

J'Naul continued his laughing all the same.

A/N: winks go to:

Predator- they really are ugly mother fuckers!

Half Life- crowbars and ventilation shafts!

Aliens 3- xenomorphs jumping out of air ducts!

Red Dwarf- sauna with a fat man line!

Star Trek- the tribbles and their "unusual circumstances"!

Jurassic Park- those lovable raptors and their huffs!

Zombie Land- words of wisdom!

And everything I ever loved about a sunbeam!


End file.
